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Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), born Ellen Naomi Cohen, was a noted Americansinger, best remembered as Mama Cass of the pop quartet The Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she had a successful solo career, releasing five studio albums. Elliot was found dead in her room in London from an apparent heart attack after two weeks of sold-out performances at the Palladium. In 1998, the four members of the group were inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[1]

Ellen Cohen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Philip and Bess Cohen. She grew up in Baltimore, and then the family moved to Alexandria, Virginia (a suburb of Washington, DC). She adopted the name “Cass” in high school – possibly, as Denny Doherty tells it, borrowing it from the actress Peggy Cass – but in any case, it was just ‘Cass,’ not ‘Cassandra.’ She assumed the surname Elliot sometime later, in memory of a friend who had died.

Here’s another version of “Dream A Little Dream” -I posted it cause it was so funny!

While working as a cloakroom attendant at “The Showplace” in Greenwich Village, Elliot would sometimes sing, but it wasn’t until she returned to the Washington area, to attend American University, that she began to pursue a singing career. As America’s folk music scene was on the rise, Elliot met banjoist and singer Tim Rose and singer John Brown, and the three began performing as The Triumvirate. In 1963, James Hendricks replaced Brown and the trio was renamed The Big Three. Elliot’s first recording, Winkin’, Blinkin’ and Nod, with The Big Three, was released by FM Records in 1963.

A popular legend about Elliot is that her vocal range was improved by three notes after she was hit on the head by some copper tubing shortly before joining the group, while they were in the Virgin Islands. Elliot herself confirmed the story; in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1968 she said,

“

It’s true, I did get hit on the head by a pipe that fell down and my range was increased by three notes. They were tearing this club apart in the islands, revamping it, putting in a dance floor. Workmen dropped a thin metal plumbing pipe and it hit me on the head and knocked me to the ground. I had a concussion and went to the hospital. I had a bad headache for about two weeks and all of a sudden I was singing higher. It’s true. Honest to God.[2]

”

However, her friends later said that the pipe story was used as a less embarrassing explanation for why John had kept her out of the group for so long, because the real reason she was not accepted sooner was that John considered her to be too fat. [3]

Now that The New Journeymen had two female members, they needed a new name. According to Doherty, Elliot had the inspiration for the band’s new name. Doherty writes on his website:

“

We’re all just lying around vegging out watching TV and discussing names for the group. The New Journeymen was not a handle that was going to hang on this outfit. John was pushing for The Magic Cyrcle. Eech, but none of us could come up with anything better, then we switch the channel and, hey, it’s the Hells Angels on this talk show… And the first thing we hear is: “Now hold on there, Hoss. Some people call our women cheap, but we just call them our Mamas.” Cass jumped up: “Yeah! I want to be a Mama.” And Michelle is going: “We’re the Mamas! We’re the Mamas!” OK. I look at John. He’s looking at me going: “The Papas?” Problem solved. A toast! To The Mamas and the Papas. Well, after many, many toasts, Cass and John are passed out.”[4]

”

Doherty went on to say that the occasion marked the beginning of his affair with Michelle. Elliot was in love with Doherty, so was displeased when he told her about the affair. Doherty has said that Cass once proposed to him, but that he was so stoned at the time, he could not even respond.

John Denver and Cass Elliot together

Elliot, known for her sense of humor and optimism, was considered by some to be the most charismatic member of the group. Her warm, distinctive voice was a large factor in their success. She is best remembered for her vocals on the group’s hits “California Dreamin’“, “Monday Monday“, and “Words of Love”, and particularly for the solo “Dream a Little Dream of Me“, which the group recorded in 1968 after learning about the death of Fabian Andre, one of the men who co-wrote it, whom Michelle Phillips had met years earlier. Elliot’s version is noteworthy for being a ballad, whereas almost all earlier recordings of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” (including one by Nat King Cole) had been quick, up-tempo versions — the song having actually been written in 1931 as a dance tune for the nightclubs of the day.

With Johnny Carson

The recording is muffled, but good enough to be interesting. One can see how Cass Elliot had become a major force in music and entertainment. Here she is with Julie Andrews singing a Simon and Garfunkel medley.

They continued to record to meet the terms of their record contract until their final album was released in 1971.

After the breakup of The Mamas & the Papas, Elliot went on to have a successful solo singing career. Her most successful recording during this period was 1968’s Dream a Little Dream of Me from her solo album of the same name, released by Dunhill Records though it had originally been recorded for and released on the album The Papas & the Mamas Presented By The Mamas and the Papas earlier that year. She headlined briefly in Las Vegas at Caesar’s Palace for the unusually lucrative pay of USD$40,000 per week, although her performances were not well reviewed.

Elliot was married twice. The first marriage, to bandmate Jim Hendricks, began in 1963. This was reportedly a purely platonic arrangement to assist him in avoiding being drafted into the army during the Vietnam War;[5] the marriage reportedly was never consummated and was annulled in 1968.[6] In 1971, Elliot married journalist Baron Donald von Wiedenman[7][8] who was heir to a Bavarianbarony. Their marriage ended in divorce after a few months.

Cass Elliot’s first solo appearance with Andy Williams

Elliot gave birth to a daughter, Owen Vanessa Elliot, on April 26, 1967. She never publicly identified the father, but many years later, Michelle Phillips helped Owen locate her biological father.[9] Owen grew up to become a singer as well and toured with former Beach Boy Al Jardine.[10]

At the height of her solo career in 1974, Elliot performed two weeks of sold-out concerts at theLondon Palladium. She telephoned Michelle Phillips after the final concert on July 28th, utterly elated that she had received standing ovations each night. She then retired for the evening, and died in her sleep at age 32. Sources state her death was due to a heart attack.[11][12] Elliot died in a London flat, No. 12 at 9 Curzon Place, Mayfair which was on loan from singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson. Four years later, The Who‘s drummer Keith Moon would die in the same flat.[13]

After Elliot’s death, her younger sister, Leah Kunkel, received custody of Cass’ daughter Owen, then just seven years old. Kunkel is also a singer and was charted in 1984 as a member of the Coyote Sisters on the single “Straight From The Heart (Into Your Life).” Kunkel was interviewed by VH1 in 1997 and discussed her famous sister for the “Mamas & Papas” episode of the network’s documentary series Behind The Music.

Immediately after her death, gossip columns speculated that Elliot died choking on a ham sandwich. Speaking to the press shortly after her body was discovered, the police noted that a partly eaten sandwich had been found in her room and speculated that she may have choked while eating it. When the coroner’s autopsy was performed, no food was found in her trachea and the cause of death was determined to have been a heart attack.[12] But by then, the specious story was already making the rounds and the real cause of death was rarely discussed. The incorrect story has remained a part of the popular culture.

The song “Mama, I Remember You Now” by the Swedish artist Marit Bergman is a tribute to Elliot. She was the subject of a 2004 stage production in Dublin,[14]The Songs of Mama Cass, with Kristin Kapelli performing main vocals. The Crosby, Stills & NashGreatest Hits album released in 2005 was dedicated to Cass Elliot. The British film Beautiful Thing heavily features her recordings, and the memory of her, plays a role in the life of one character.

The song “Mama, I Remember You Now” by the Swedish artist Marit Bergman is a tribute to Elliot. She was the subject of a 2004 stage production in Dublin,[14]The Songs of Mama Cass, with Kristin Kapelli performing main vocals. The Crosby, Stills & NashGreatest Hits album released in 2005 was dedicated to Cass Elliot. The British film Beautiful Thing heavily features her recordings, and the memory of her, plays a role in the life of one character.

The song “Mama, I Remember You Now” by the Swedish artist Marit Bergman is a tribute to Elliot. She was the subject of a 2004 stage production in Dublin,[14]The Songs of Mama Cass, with Kristin Kapelli performing main vocals. The Crosby, Stills & NashGreatest Hits album released in 2005 was dedicated to Cass Elliot. The British film Beautiful Thing heavily features her recordings, and the memory of her, plays a role in the life of one character.